Prologue
by Jenna McKane
Summary: Their ending is a whole new beginning for all of Hetty's trusted members. [Two parts] First in a series.
1. Chapter 1

**APRIL 18, 2004. WAREHOUSE IN EAST LOS ANGELES. **

Catherine Mills, currently known as Katrina Verbose, was just getting used to her life when her bosses had other ideas for her. Her life was uprooted; her name was changed as was much of her appearance. Catherine's green eyes and heart shaped face was all that really remained the same. She had long blonde hair with honey colored highlights, a new wardrobe fit for a house wife (not a CIA agent) and a new tattoo on her ribs now. All because one person had pulled epic (to anyone but her) strings. Henrietta Lange, or as she knew her, Steele.

Henrietta and Catherine had gone farther back than anybody really thought about. Back to when Henrietta was involved with the CIA. Back to when Henrietta was undoubtedly the best person in the business.

Catherine spoke nothing of her past with Henrietta. Most of it was classified, yes but some of it, a small chunk of it was not. This small portion though caused more pain than the classified parts so Catherine adopted the rule, out of sight out of mind.

Catherine's past with Steele made her a "trusted individual fit for all". Basically just a pawn in her chess game. But sometimes when she was losing the game Catherine became her Rook, a piece most valuable at the end.

Henrietta had a collection of Rooks, each and every one of them had a special talent. For some it was their language ability, their shooting ability or their ability in the field but Catherine's ability was rare and it was acquired over time. Her ability was known to the rest of the Rooks as shifting or the ability to shift into any role, at any time without any complications at the end.

This was how she ended up with a wedding ring on her finger, a new name, a whole new appearance and gun to the back of her head.

Catherine was calm, as calm as she could be with the cold metal of a Sig Sauer pressed up against the back of her neck. She was focused on her "husband", known undercover operative and another one of Henrietta's pawns, "Jackson Verbose".

He was lying on the ground in front of her with a bullet wound to the knee, a warning shot. He sat on the floor of the grimy warehouse they were in bleeding profusely. His dark denim was stained with bright red, his azure eyes were clamped shut in pain and his sweat ridden shaggy, blonde, overgrown hair was stuck to his forehead.

Catherine wasn't thinking straight, she was trying to think calmly about all the ways to kill the man behind her back without killing Jackson. She found none, except one.

Catherine watched as Jackson tried to stand but his knee wouldn't let him. Each time he tried a curse blew from his lips and the man behind her laughed maliciously. She couldn't stand it anymore so she asked calmly, "What is it you want?"

The man took the gun off her head but she remained still. "Who are you working for," the man growled into her ear.

Catherine stood vigil although she wanted to shudder and refused to answer the question. She heard the man moved from behind her and she spun around when she heard him cock his Sig.

She looked back to Jackson and then to the gun expecting it to be pointed at him. He'd figured out quick that she and Catherine were partners and he wasn't afraid to use it against them. This time though the gun wasn't pointed at him but at her. "I'll ask you both one last time. Who do you work for?"

Jackson looked at her and then to the gun, they knew what would happen if they didn't tell him but she also knew what would happen in they did. Both results were the same but only one saved Jackson.

"Steele,"

"Excuse me,"

"The name you're looking for is Steele." Catherine cursed herself when she said it again. She knew that it'd bite her in the ass in more ways than one. When she looked at Jackson she saw his eyes begin to droop and she swore to herself.

The man looked at her with dark green eyes and shook his head, "Is that all you know?"

Catherine didn't speak she just nodded her head. The man looked to Jackson and she saw his eyes begin to glaze over. The amount of blood he was losing was sending his body into shock. He said nothing but looked satisfied with the answer.

Catherine took his moment of satisfaction as an advantage. She kicked her right foot up in a sweeping motion and knocked the gun out of his hand. Using her placement she kneed him hard in the gut doubling him over.

"You bitch," he seethed.

Catherine smiled and moved for the gun. The Sig Sauer was foreign in her hands but before she could even fire it the man was back upright on his feet and plunging towards her.

She dodged as best she could and managed for a good moment before she felt an uppercut collide with her jaw.

The gun fell to the ground and Catherine's vision blurred. All she saw was the man lean down, pick up the gun and aim. For her.

Just as the bullet left the gun she heard Jackson scream, "Katrina," one last time before her ears began to ring and her vision lessened once again and a new pain started in her chest.

Through blurred vision Catherine saw her "husband" give her a look before she saw him limply crawl towards her. His lips moved but Catherine heard none of it.

The ringing subsided but she heard nothing. She only noticed the pain in her chest and that Jackson's blurred figured was getting closer. She didn't know where the shooter went; the man they'd been tracking for months was getting away. The nameless man who was a threat to over a dozen federal agencies was getting away and neither of them was fit to chase after him. If she was fully aware her pretty mouth would have uttered ugly words.

When he finally looked close enough to touch, she weakly reached out a hand and touched his. When they met he clasped his around hers and she saw the tears falling from his eyes. She weakly grasped his hand but she knew it wasn't much more than a touch.

She saw him say something that looked like, 'You'll be fine' but she just shook her head and rid herself of the blurriness.

The all-encompassing feelings of pain and distortion left her. It was replaced only by darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**APRIL 30, 2004 A HOSPITAL NEAR LANGLEY**

Catherine knew she was in a hospital before she woke up. It smelled sterile, there was a dull ache in her chest and the constant beeping from the machines was a dead giveaway. Surprisingly the ache in her chest from where the bullet entered wasn't as bad as she'd expect it to be but the headache she had was killer, likely a concussion. Despite the pain, her body was restless and her eyes fluttered open.

She opened her eyes to see that her room was dimly lit. It looked to be night time and the shades were drawn. Henrietta was positioned in a chair in front of the window, her eyes were focused on the door but she caught the movement from Catherine and turned her head, "Miss. Mills, I see you still can't keep yourself out of trouble."

Catherine's lips turned upwards and she responded, "Old habits die hard."

"Indeed they do Miss Mills but yours seem to be quite dangerous. What is this now?"

Catherine immediately knew what she was referring to, she was a bullet magnet. Almost all long term missions she went on ended in some type of gun fire. To no one's surprise she'd been shot before. "Six, seven if you count the one that nicked my Kevlar in Czech," Catherine confirmed.

Henrietta nodded and Catherine's eyes caught her own hands. The rings were missing. Henrietta followed her eye line and supplied, "They removed them before your second surgery."

"Second surgery?" Catherine questioned.

"You had some complications," Catherine looked at Henrietta and knew immediately that she was hiding something. Henrietta had always been good at hiding things but the thin veil she was hiding under right now was making it easy for her to see through everything. The problem was that she didn't know _what _she was hiding.

Catherine ignored her instincts and asked, "Where are they now?"

"Back at OPS," Catherine looked at Henrietta and then to the window. She looked at the time on the clock and saw that it was later than she'd expected. Catherine drew the conclusion that they'd moved her, there were no palm trees, no beaches and no expensive cars to be seen anywhere.

"Where am I?" She asked quickly.

Henrietta sighed and looked at the nurse's desk that was right outside her door. She was focused on their whereabouts and Catherine swore under her breath just as Henrietta uttered the words, "Near Langley."

Catherine looked at her and saw all that there was more she was hiding more that she wouldn't tell but she pushed, "And my partner?"

"Back with LAPD."

Catherine dropped her head to her chest and grumbled, "He's alright?"

"He's alive." Catherine breathed a sigh of relief, he was alive. They were both alive.

Catherine's mind fluttered back to the warehouse and asked, "And the man we were tracking?"

"His location is currently unknown." Catherine swore under her breath and looked up to Henrietta.

"Am I to assume that I'm no longer a Rook?" Catherine almost knew the answer. She'd asked it after she'd been every time before and it was normally the same. But she wasn't expecting to hear what she did.

"No," Henrietta said. She walked forward and placed her hands on the bedrails. Her 4' 9 figure was strangely intimidating and her stare was even more so. "You'll be on the back burner, so to speak, I'll call you, both of you when we've found him."

"Steele," Catherine protested but was quickly subdued with one hard glare.

Catherine remained silent for a moment then changed the topic, "Who was my partner? You said he worked for LAPD, that isn't your normal pick."

"His name is Martin Deeks; he's a new LAPD undercover detective." Catherine watched as Henrietta pursed her lips. She watched Catherine take in the information. Catherine nodded and reached over to her left hand and began running her hand up and down her ring finger. She missed the metal; it had become a comfort, an anchor, a thing that she'd always remember. Catherine shut her eyes and breathed in deeply for a moment before she heard Henrietta say, "Don't look for him though Miss Mills."

Catherine opened her eyes immediately and looked confused, "I thought you said he was alright?"

"He is, but you on the other hand weren't for a while," Henrietta said.

Catherine looked at her and the around her room, there was nothing there that said the date. Nothing that told her how long she was out. She'd expected at least a few days but she didn't know, nothing was telling her, "How long have I been out?"

"Twelve days, Miss Mills." Catherine's pretty mouth let out some un-pretty words and she looked over to Henrietta. She had no real emotions on her face but she was still hiding something and Catherine couldn't take it anymore.

"What did you tell him?"

"Miss Mills," Henrietta cautioned.

"What. Did. You. Tell. Him?" Catherine demanded in a louder voice. It was strained but it was still powerful.

Henrietta looked at Catherine and took a step back from the bedrails, "We told him what he needed to hear."

"Then why isn't he here," Catherine asked and that was when it clicked. He wasn't there because she wasn't either. Or at least to him she wasn't. She was dead. They told him she was _dead_. Catherine closed her eyes and clamped them tight. She knew that there were tears threatening to boil over but she couldn't, not in front of Henrietta. She took long breaths and opened her eyes after a moment.

When she opened her eyes Henrietta was sitting on the chair. Watching the nurses, doctors and orderlies bustle around the hospital. Catherine watches her for a moment before saying, "I need to be alone right now." Catherine's voice was definitive but it quivered when she reached the end.

Henrietta nodded and got out of the chair and left her hospital room. Catherine pressed the call button for morphine and closed her eyes washing all the memories of the last 18 months away from her.

::

**MAY 07, 2013 LANGLEY OFFICES**

For almost ten years Catherine was rid of all thing related to that fateful day (except her scars) and for the most part she was content with that but one day when she arrived at Langley there was an envelope labeled "Rook" in Henrietta's scrawl on her desk. Catherine's heart plummeted and she tore the envelope open quickly.

When she opened it there was only a picture of the man she only had blurred memories of and another known Rook, G Callen. Callen was strapped to a chair, his face had bruises on it and the bastard had a gun pointed at his head.

Catherine dropped the picture and reached for her phone. She dialed a number she'd never forget and said, "I'll be there in less than a day." Catherine swore under her breath and gathered her purse from her desk, shoving the picture in it rustling out of the building quickly heading towards the airport for the first plane to Los Angeles.

* * *

_A/N: I finished it early so I thought I'd post early! I promise that Kensi and Deeks is the main goal but Catherine's relationship with him is a catalyst of sorts. The prologue is complete so expect the second part out by next Monday (2/24/14) it'll be entitled Playing with Rooks. _


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